Wild Horses and a Former Student

Recently, a former student reached out to me via Facebook Messenger.  It is always, always, ALWAYS nice to hear from former students, but John's message had an extra measure of thoughtfulness.

John wouldn't know that one of my bucket list items is to see a wild horse living in the wild. He just remembered that I loved horses and took the time to send me a few of his photos.

I don't know which herd this is

outside of the fact that John said they were in Arizona.

He certainly captured some beautiful snaps of the horses!

It may be the camera angle, but this looks like a young horse to me.

This photo takes me back to my own teenage years and riding my horses out into the Wabash on a warm summer day. My horses would splash and paw the water as they drank and cooled off, too.

The year John was in my class, he and his family traveled to Thailand over Christmas break. 

He brought back this beautiful lily-shaped candle for me. It was too beautiful to burn, and I have displayed it in my china cabinet ever since.

After I got John's message and photos, I had to pull out this book.

My favorite book of all time, and I read it aloud to every class I ever taught. (In fact, I just read it again myself last week!) I would ask the students to sign my book when we finished it together. 

John had added a smiley face to his signature.

Thanks, John, for your kindness and thoughtfulness - you brightened this former teacher's day!